Wednesday, March 19, 1994 – ZAGE Offices
Zaboru smiled as he looked over the docunt in his hand. Beside him sat a compact gray-and-white box with distinct purple lines, imdiately evoking mories of the SNES from his previous life. This sleek, modern machine was none other than the culmination of Project Blue—the ZEPS 2 console, the embodint of his vision and the next major step for ZAGE.
Yes, Zaboru decided to na it ZEPS 2 for many reasons, and now he chuckled at the thought. "I still rember so clearly how many parents were confused about which Nintendo console to buy for their kids," he mused. In his previous life, Zaboru had worked part-ti at a video ga store, where he frequently encountered bewildered parents trying to make sense of gaming consoles. Often, they would ask what system to get, and clerks like Zaboru would recomnd the latest and most advanced model. But once they heard the price, many imdiately asked for a cheaper alternative.
More often than not, they walked out of the store with the budget-friendly version, even if it wasn’t what their kid actually wanted. He rembered how parents who asked for a Nintendo 64 would walk out with an SNES instead, rationalizing their decision with, "It’s still Nintendo, right?" Zaboru had no doubt that the kid was dreaming of the latest console and would be crushed upon opening the box.
But this kind of confusion rarely happened with PlayStation, thanks to how straightforwardly the company nad its consoles: PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and so on. The nurical sequence made it easy for non-gars—especially parents—to instantly identify the latest model. Because of that, even if they couldn’t afford it right away, parents often opted to wait and save up, knowing exactly which version to buy when they had the ans. The simplicity and clarity of the naming convention made the PlayStation brand easy to recognize and rember, and that made all the difference.
Zaboru leaned back and caressed the ZEPS 2 with a sense of satisfaction. "Besides, the ZEPS na is already growing on ," he said, running his fingers along the smooth casing. "We’ll follow the sa naming strategy as PlayStation—they’ve stuck to simple numbers, and they’re almost always the best-selling consoles." A nostalgic smile crept across his face, full of quiet confidence and fond mories. He rembered the days when Nintendo reigned supre, and the SNES was the undisputed king of console gaming. Then ca the PlayStation, which quickly earned the nickna "Nintendo’s Worst Nightmare." And rightly so—once Sony entered the scene, Nintendo began losing ground in terms of player base and industry dominance And the worst part? Nintendo and Sony nearly created the Nintendo PlayStation together—until Nintendo pulled out at the last second. Zaboru rembered that back in the early 2000s, people often criticized Nintendo’s decision, calling it foolish. But by the 2020s, opinions had shifted dramatically. Many now praised Nintendo for walking away, realizing that if the collaboration had gone through, Nintendo might have been consud and eventually dismantled by Sony’s more aggressive, profit-driven business model. It was a move that, in hindsight, preserved Nintendo’s independence and identity.
Still, both Nintendo and PlayStation had their strengths and weaknesses. Each company brought sothing valuable to the table, and Zaboru knew it was his job to take the best from both video ga giants. Drawing from his past life experience, he aid to forge a path that combined innovation, clarity, and enduring appeal.
Next, he gripped the controller in his hands and imdiately felt a rush of excitent. He couldn’t help but smirk. While the ZEPS 2 might resemble the SNES in appearance, its controller told a very different story. Unlike older systems, this controller was thoughtfully modernized. It featured the familiar four D-pad buttons and four face buttons—X, Square, Circle, and Triangle—arranged in a way that mirrored the early PlayStation layout. In addition, it included R1, R2, L1, and L2 trigger buttons, as well as the classic select and start buttons. The overall design was clean, intuitive, and satisfyingly clicky. Zaboru had carefully modeled it after the original PS1 controller, which he considered a masterclass in ergonomics. He paused for a mont, contemplating the omission of analog sticks. While the ideal controller might include them, Zaboru had intentionally skipped that feature for now. After all, the ZEPS 2 was a 16-bit console, and analog functionality wasn’t a priority—yet because lacks of Pure 3d gas that absolutely need Diagonal inputs. Still, the thought lingered in his mind, a quiet promise of what future iterations might hold.
As for specs, the ZEPS 2 was powered by a Motorola 68000 processor clocked at 12 MHz—the very sa chip that once drove the Neo Geo in Zaboru’s previous life. It was a proven workhorse, and Zaboru’s team had wisely secured a supply deal with Motorola to ensure consistency and reliability for their upcoming production.
Yet even as he finalized the specs, another concern began to simr in Zaboru’s mind. He realized that relying solely on third-party suppliers could limit ZAGE’s long-term ambitions. If they truly wanted to innovate and control their technological destiny, the company would eventually need to forge a relationship with AMD and begin investing in proprietary processor developnt. It wouldn’t happen overnight, but the seeds had to be planted now.
When it ca to the rest of the console’s hardware, Zaboru drew heavily from the Neo Geo blueprint, which had been the most powerful 16-bit system in his previous life. It was a tried-and-true design he respected, but he didn’t just copy it—he improved upon it. He added a handful of key enhancents, including the integration of a streamlined, cost-effective version of the Super FX co-processor. This was the sa groundbreaking technology Nintendo had once deployed in Star Fox and Yoshi’s Island, capable of pushing advanced graphical effects well beyond the limits of traditional 2D hardware.
For the ZEPS 2, however, the Super FX chip had been optimized and miniaturized. It would now be embedded directly into ga cartridges that required 3D rendering or needed major performance boosts. Just as Nintendo had done in the past—but this ti, with greater efficiency and flexibility. Developers could push the limits of the hardware without being shackled by internal constraints.
The end result was staggering. In raw performance, the ZEPS 2 would outpace Sonaya’s Titan Drive and leave it in the dust. Not just in benchmark specs, but in how it empowered developers to create visually stunning and complex gas previously unthinkable on a 16-bit machine and if Sonaya Titan Drive wanted to win against ZEPS 2? they need to fight with Ga Creativity which Zaboru really hoped that’s the case if Sonaya is able to create sothing like that ans Zaboru will have other good gas to play!.
All told, the ZEPS 2 stood tall as the pinnacle of 16-bit engineering—at least by the standards of Zaboru’s previous world. He couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of pride. He had turned a dream into reality, and he knew this machine wasn’t just a console—it was a dream his dream.
Zaboru grinned, a nostalgic glint in his eyes. "Hehehehe... my 16-bit console, hehehehe." The mory swept over him—the first 16-bit console he ever bought with his own hard-earned money: the Super Nintendo Entertainnt System, back in 1993. He’d been two years behind the curve, but that didn’t matter. That SNES had been his prize, earned through long shifts at a part-ti job and endless hours of saving. It hadn’t just been a toy—it was his badge of determination, and it had brought him an era of joy he would never forget.
"Heh, ZEPS 2 might not be SNES," he murmured fondly, gently patting the smooth casing of the device, "but my mory will always be with you, buddy." He lingered on the mont, letting the weight of the past and the promise of the future settle around him like a familiar, comforting cloak.
He smirked. The ZEPS 2 wasn’t just a product; it was his partner. "I can’t wait for developers to start creating gas for it... my 16-bit console," he whispered to himself with quiet pride.
Zaboru already had a release plan in motion. Eight titles were locked in to launch alongside the system, each one handpicked to showcase the console’s capabilities.
Also Last month, he had distributed developnt kits to ZAGE’s most trusted third-party studios—teams that had proven their talent and loyalty over the years. While most of them were still getting acquainted with the new hardware, the early feedback had been promising.
He sipped his coffee, the rich aroma mingling with the scent of plastic and cardboard from the nearby cartridge boxes. He leaned back in his chair, eyes sweeping over the row of prototypes lined up on the desk. Those eight gas... they would mark the beginning of ZEPS 2’s journey and these gas are..
To be continued
AN : That case with parents confused with Console’s na was really true back then lol!
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